Safety In Numbers

RATED: NQSS (Not Quite So Scary)


Haleh took a deep breath and headed into Helen's room. She mentally prepared herself for the onslaught of questions Helen would be bound to have. She didn't have answers for all of them, of that, she was sure, but she had to let this woman, and friend of Carter's know what was going on. She knew she needed to get a hold of Carter's Grandmother, maybe Helen would be the best one for that job, she seemed to have a cool head, and a warm heart. She hoped Helen would be able to manage it. As Haleh stepped through the door, she noticed that Helen appeared to be sleeping. She had a bandage on her head, and bruises on her face. The woman had just been assaulted, and almost raped, had Carter not stepped in when he did. She tried to keep that in the front of her thoughts before she started to wake her. Haleh took a deep breath and moved her hand toward Helen's still form.

*********************************************

"Move the fluoroscope onto the field." Elizabeth instructed. She was trying to do the least invasive procedure possible. She knew that in the past few months, this man had been through enough, and wished to save him a lengthy hospital stay if she could. The trochars were placed and the scope was positioned. Elizabeth viewed the screen with a sigh, she would have to take a closer look at the apparent stab wound in his chest. His pleural region was filled with clots, the best she could discern was that he was stabbed in the back from some type of thin bladed knife, and the wound must have closed off initially. The kick to the sternum must have dislodged the clots, causing the massive hemorrhage in his chest cavity. The sternum was repaired with an autologous bone graft from his hip, due to his previous sternal injury, it was almost impossible to salvage the sternum proper. She used the morsalized bone graft judiciously, she realized that the hip would probably be more painful then the initial injury, it always was. After applying new sternal wires, and re-checking their position, she moved on to the stab wound in the back. Numerous clots were suctioned out of his pleural region, allowing Elizabeth to clearly see the damage his lung had sustained. She repaired the bronchial damage, and closed the chest wound, reinserting the chest tube and a Jackson-Pratt drain in the upper chest cavity, just to be on the safe side. She was ready to close, when the OR doors opened. Elizabeth looked up, "I have this well in hand." She returned to closing, paying little attention to her visitor.

*************************************************

Jose was ready to go to the OR. The ophthalmologist had told him that he may be able to save his vision, but it would require surgery. The idea hadn't much appealed to him, he didn't trust these medical people, they'd probably try to kill him in his sleep. He saw that he had little choice. His arm needed to be surgically repaired as well. Who would have thought a scrawny guy could do so much freakin' damage? Jose pondered this thought, as Officer Rich made his way into the pre-operative holding area. Jose was not looking forward to any of this, least of all, talking to a friggin' cop. He needed to get the hell out of here, and fast. Screw the eye, lots of people made it through life with only one eye, and he'd learn to use his left arm while his right one healed. He decided to play it cool, feign sleep, make the cop think he was really bad off, then he could take him, and get the hell out of here. Jose closed his eyes, and tried to breathe deeply, he had to 'look' asleep. Officer Rich pulled up a chair next to the gurney Jose lay on. He just sat there staring at him, he knew the punk wasn't asleep, he could wait just as long as Jose could, he was a patient man, just not a man whose temper was well in control, and he was a little pissed off at the moment. He smiled the most wicked smile he could as he noticed Jose peeking out of the corner of his eye, "Jose, hey buddy! How're feeling? Surgery, man that's tough, hope they don't have to pop that eyeball out, the girls won't be too impressed with you then will they? That'd be bad Jose, and I bet it hurts like a bitch don't it? Are they giving you anything for pain Jose? Gee, I sure hope so, cause that sure looks bad, looks like it hurts like hell too!" Tom leaned in and placed his finger on the orbit of his eye, the doctor had told him it was fractured, and he just wanted to get Jose's full attention for the next thing he needed to tell him. He applied very little pressure to Jose's orbital bone, bringing him fully awake, cursing up a storm.

"What the hell you doin' man! I got a broke eye! Can't you see that! I sue you for harassment man! I sue you for excessive use of force! You got an attorney, I sure hope so!" Jose looked over to the man responsible for his current pain, and decided he had better shut up, the guy was huge, 6'6" at least, maybe 250 to 280 pounds, crew cut, looked like he'd enjoy it if Jose gave him some shit.

"Ease off there Jose, I don't need an attorney, but you do!" Tom said, and he loved this part of the job, "You also have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided to you...." Tom read the punk his Miranda rights, smiling the whole time.

******************************************************

"Helen," Haleh spoke very quietly, "Helen."

Helen rolled over toward Haleh, she could see the woman had been crying. She had no idea what was going on and Haleh was sure her imagination would be much worse then actually knowing what had transpired.

"What is it?" She asked, coming fully awake in a matter of seconds.

"I need to tell you, they have the guy who did this to you." Haleh said, followed by an uncomfortable silence.

"That's not the only thing you came to tell me is it?" Helen asked after enduring several minutes of silence.

"Carter, uh..Dr. Carter..uh...John..." Haleh would never get used to his first name, in her mind, he'd always be Carter. "He was injured during an altercation with the punk. I think he's going to be okay" She quickly added, noting Helen's response, "he's in surgery."

"Surgery?" Helen asked.

"Yes, the kid kicked him good in the chest, broke his sternum, but he'll be okay, Elizabeth is taking good care of him. Don't you worry."

She gave Helen a few minutes to absorb the information, then asked, "Would you be able to call Dr. Carter's...uh....Carter's....his Grandmother? I think it would be better coming from you." Haleh put her hand on Helen's shoulder, "How are you doing? Has the counselor been in to talk to you?"

"Yes, the counselor was in, I'm fine, just have a heck of a headache right now. I'll call Mrs. Carter, are you sure he'll be all right?" Helen asked again.

"Elizabeth will make sure he's okay, trust me on this one." Haleh said.

"Oh, I know Dr. Corday is an excellent surgeon, that is not what worries me." Helen said, starring off.

"I know..." Both women didn't want to voice their concern.

*************************************************

"Peter, I am perfectly capable of handling this." Elizabeth curtly said.

"I know that Elizabeth, I just got on, and saw his name on the board. I...." Peter stammered, "I was just concerned is all."

"Okay Peter, I can live with that...are you sterile?" She asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Come here and hold this, while I get this sutured please." Elizabeth realized that Peter showing concern for anyone other than himself was quite out of the ordinary and did not wish for him to feel useless.

"Thanks." Peter mumbled as he held onto the clamp.

*****************************************************

Tom left two guards posted at the door and returned to retrieve his partner in the ER who was flirting with the desk clerk.

"Come on, we have a job to do buddy!" Tom said, earning him a dirty look from his partner.

"Man...." Jake said, as he tore his eyes away from Randi, "Catch ya later okay?"

"Sure, you know where to find me." Randi replied.

"What did you go and to that for?"

"We have a door to replace dude." Tom said, "Home Depot here we come."

"Can't he take care of that?"

"Jake, I broke a DOCTOR'S ribs giving him CPR! Think about that and get your brain out of your zipper for just a minute okay? How often are we in here personally, getting spit at, bitten, shot, broken bones, do you want to come in here, with a doc who works in the ER knowing that YOUR partner broke his damned ribs?"

"Uh...I see your point....let's get a nice door okay?" Jake picked up his stride as they made their way back out the ambulance bay doors, "Home Depot here we come!"

"Now, that's more like it partner!" Tom clapped him on the back..

**************************************

Elizabeth took a deep breath, "Carter." She said, noting that her patient was still very groggy from the anesthesia, "Can you hear me?" She asked.

She was answered by a slight nod of his head, as he closed his eyes. The anesthesia was still hanging on. "Carter?" His eyes slowly opened.

He tried to say something, but realized it was not possible, he was still intubated. Someone was calling him, he couldn't clearly see who, or make out what was being said, he could just hear someone calling him over and over, and wished they would shut up so he could go back to sleep. He was having such a nice dream, and did not appreciate the intrusion.

"We need to give him more time." Elizabeth told Peter, "he isn't awake enough to try this. Let him sleep off the anesthesia first." Elizabeth moved to leave the PACU, and noticed that Peter was not following along. She had stopped at the desk to leave orders, one of which, was that he was not to be extubated until she came back. "I'll be back by in about one hour's time, I have an appendectomy, I would appreciate it, if you could keep me informed as to his condition. Even if he awakens, I want to be present when he is extubated." Elizabeth wanted to make sure she was clear on that. The last thing she wanted was to have to reintubate, and giving him more time in the PACU was the best solution she could come up with.

She was busily writing down orders on his chart, when she felt someone staring at her, she looked over her shoulder, "Yes, Peter?"

"Um..." he stammered, "what were your findings?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I had meant to discuss this with you. It looked to me as if he had had a stab wound of some sort, but not with a bladed knife, there were no serrations in the area, it appeared to be rather a small puncture wound. It appeared to me as if this had clotted off, although, he probably had the pneumothorax at the time of the original injury. The blunt trauma to the sternum is what I believe caused the clot to dislodge in the lung. Although, we did remove numerous small clots in the OR, I didn't see any others, so I don't expect any postoperative complications. We shall see. I would like to have him extubated as soon as he is able to tolerate." Elizabeth looked at her watch, "I really have to get moving, I have an appy in about 5 minutes."

"I don't have anything scheduled until later this afternoon, I'll just kind of hang around here, make sure you know..." Peter looked down at the floor.

"Yes, Peter, I know...he'll be fine, but I'm sure he'd appreciate a friendly face when he wakes up." Elizabeth smiled at her own little joke, "Indeed." She said in her clipped British accent. Peter's face was about the least friendly she had ever encountered, but for some reason, even his scowl turned in his direction, didn't daunt John Carter from being on friendly terms with the great Peter Benton. They had such a strange relationship, Elizabeth always thought that Carter must feel a bid sorry for Peter Benton, the man was always such a grouch, and Carter was almost always happy. They seemed to equal each other out, even if Carter's upbeat disposition often got on Peter's nerves, he didn't outwardly say anything to Carter about this, he just scowled appropriately in his general direction, every so often simply saying, "Carter...." And heaving a big sigh. Elizabeth knew I her short relationship with Peter Benton that he was very capable of feeling, although, he never showed anyone else that capability, and it was better left unsaid. Peter wasn't one to talk about "feelings" but rather he preferred to stay an "island unto himself" and only on rare occasion, did emotion ever filter out, usually anger. Elizabeth knew he had a mean streak, as did every student ever assigned to him. She had to hand it to Carter. He really stuck in there. Elizabeth smiled.

"What?" Peter said.

Elizabeth hadn't realized he was still standing next to her, as her thoughts went through her head. She realized she was standing there grinning. "On, nothing..." Far be it from her to make the great Peter Benton feel somewhat human. No, it wasn't her place any more. She thought Cleo and Peter had made the perfect couple, two better poker faces were not to be found in the entire city of Chicago. She kept that thought to herself. Elizabeth handed Peter the chart, "As long as you'll be hanging about, keep track of his vitals would you? I'll be in OR 5, keep me informed if there are any changes."

Peter was handed the chart, and made his way back to his post next to Carter's bedside. He was fast asleep, and having what appeared to be a good dream for a change. Peter opened the chart, and went about reading the notes from the ER and from the surgery. He had been sitting next to the bed going over the information, and glanced up at the clock. He hadn't realized a half-hour had passed. His back end was falling asleep in the chair, he got up, stretched, checked vitals again. Everything looked fine, his BP was a little on the high side, but that was to be expected. He moved toward the nurse's desk, and picked up the phone, he had told Elizabeth he would keep her informed.

He made his call, and returned to his post next to the bed. Peter closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his chair back in his usual position against the wall. He could sleep damn near anywhere, his years of surgery had taught him, you catch some sleep while you can. He closed his eyes, unaware of Carter's vague look over in his direction.

*****************************************

John felt like there was a huge weight on his chest. He awoke, then decided it hurt. He looked over and saw Benton reclining his chair against the wall, eyes closed, he didn't think the guy ever really slept, he just closed his eyes. He could try to get his attention, pain was starting to supersede all other feelings at the moment, one of which, was to never awaken Peter Benton, that right there was a frightening thought. John closed his eyes, and awoke as the nurse came to check his vitals. He looked over toward her, "Are you having any pain?" She had asked. John shook his head in the affirmative, and was given a shot of morphine, within minutes, he was fast asleep again.

Peter awoke and found the chart gone from the bedside table, he went in search of the chart, which he located in the chart rack at the desk. He looked at the vitals, and the fact that Carter had awakened briefly, and was given a shot of morphine. "So, he woke up." Peter said under his breath, "How long ago did Carter wake up?" He asked the nurse at the desk.

"It's just been, let's see..." She looked at her watch, "maybe 15 minutes ago."

"I have to go check on a patient, I'll be back in 10 minutes, if he wakes up page me." Peter said as he scurried out of the PACU.

*****************************************

Helen didn't want to explain the entire situation to Mrs. Carter, but saw no way around it. She was still dealing with the terrific headache she had, and had just been informed that she was to have an MRI and another set of x-rays of her skull. The little punk had fractured her skull. That pissed her off. She was pondering this, when the phone was picked up at the Carter's, "Carter residence."

"Hello, this is Helen Nussbaum, may I please speak to Mrs. Carter?" Helen's phone manners were always up to speed when she dialed Mrs. Carter's number.

"Mrs. Carter is unable to come to the phone at the moment, would you like to leave a message?"

"Um...do you know how long she'll be gone?" Helen asked.

"Mrs. Carter informed me that she was going to a luncheon, and afterward was going to stop by grandson's to pay him a visit."

"Is there any way you can get a hold of her? You see, her grandson is not at home, and I would like to speak to her as soon as possible." Helen said.

"Certainly, I will inform her that she needs to call you Mrs. Nussbaum, I'm sure she has your home number."

"I'm not at home, here is the number she can reach me at." Helen rattled off the number on her phone, her head was pounding. She hung up, and rang her nurse, time to stop trying to be a martyr, her head hurt, and she needed something to make it quit.

The nurse arrived, and Helen gratefully took the two Percocet's her doctor had ordered. She put a cold washcloth on her head, and closed her eyes. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep.

***********************************************

He awoke for the second time, the ET-tube was starting to hurt his throat. He was pretty sure they were just waiting for him to wake up a bit more before they extubated him. He glanced around briefly, saw no one, not Benton, not Dr. Corday, no nurses, and only one other patient. "Where the hell was everybody?" He thought. He looked over at the settings, attempting to focus on the numbers. He could feel his chest moving, but more than that, he could feel the weight on his chest. He waited for the vent to breathe for him, then attempted to take a breath of his own. He couldn't clearly read the numbers on the machine, but he thought he had taken in a pretty good breath, at least his chest told him he did, it burned. He waited again, and attempted to take another breath on his own. He deemed himself able to maintain his own respirations, and proceeded to extubate himself. He took tight hold of the ET tube, and pulled with both hands. The alarm on the machine sounded, and he reached over to turn it off. He didn't want the Calvary coming. After a short burst of alarm, he had quieted it with a flick of a switch.

*************************************************

Helen awoke with the feeling of being watched. She looked over and there sat Mrs. Carter in a chair next to her bed.

"Good afternoon Helen, I hope I didn't awaken you." Mrs. Carter said.

"Oh no, I need to get moving anyway." She attempted to sit up, but stopped short as her head again, began to throb.

"You just lay back and relax." Mrs. Carter sat next to the bed, "I asked the nurse's what had happened, they filled me in on everything. Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes, I guess so...." Helen said as tears slid from her eyes.

Millicent Carter patted her hand, "It will be all right Helen, from what I understand the young man is going straight to jail after his surgery."

"Oh, I hope so, how he got out so quickly is beyond me! If he would have been held, none of this would be happening right now." Helen got herself under control, "How is John?"

"I saw him very briefly, and he was sound asleep. The nurse told me that Dr. Corday wanted to be present when they took that tube out of his throat, and Dr. Benton had been sitting with him for some time, when he was called away for a surgical case."

"So, he's out of surgery? Did everything go okay?" Helen asked.

"Yes, from what I understand he'll have the tube in his chest for a few days, then he'll get to go home. Helen it's actually a good thing, if he had been alone and that clot would have come loose, well, I don't want to think about that, so let's just consider ourselves lucky shall we?" Millicent said.

"Oh right, lucky...indeed....this kind of luck I don't need!" Helen added with a sarcastic tone.

**************************************************

Peter rounded the corner on his way back to the PACU. He hadn't intended to be gone for long, but 10 minutes turned into 45 as the patient he was prepping for surgery had a multitude of questions that he had already asked, and Peter had thought he had answered to the patient's satisfaction. Elizabeth's simple appy had ruptured, and she was still in the OR.

Peter looked for a staff nurse to ask about Carter's vitals, and found no one around, he perused the chart rack and located the chart. He was looking down at the page of vitals, which were taken last when Peter had left, they were supposed to be doing vitals every 15 minutes. Peter scowled looking down at the blood pressure readings, they were still a little on the high side. He pulled the curtain back a bit to go sit in his chair, and wait for Carter to wake up. He was looking down at the chart, when something on the bed caught his attention. He looked up, the vent alarms were turned off, and Carter was extubated. He did not order him extubated, and Elizabeth was very clear that he was not to be extubated until she was physically present. Carter's lips were slightly dusky, as were his nail beds.

"Carter." Peter called out, waiting for a response. He had had another shot of morphine in his absence, and it was a pretty good dose, but the nurse's probably figured that as long as he was on ventilatory support, it would be okay. He wanted to know who had extubated him. "Carter!" Peter said more forcefully, taking his wrist into his hand, his pulse was a little slow.

He couldn't exactly startle him, and certainly rubbing his sternum to awaken him was out of the question, so Peter took on his most serious tone of voice, "Carter! Wake up!" He said. He got no response.

"Hey!" Peter called out to whomever was in attendance, "Hey!"

"Yes, Dr. Benton." A nurse finally answered.

"Who ordered this patient extubated?" Peter asked.

"He isn't extubated Dr. Benton, Dr. Corday was very clear with her orders....." The nurse droned on, finally Peter stopped her mid-sentence.

"Does this look intubated to you?" He asked pointing at Carter and the ET tube laying on the bed.

"Oh my."

Peter could hear his breath sounds, as he lay his stethoscope over his chest. He was holding his own, but awfully wheezy and tight. "Call Dr. Corday please?" Peter told the nurse. Normally, he would just take the situation in hand, but as Elizabeth was now his superior and he did not wish to buck the chain of command, he was going to check with her before doing anything. As long as Carter was breathing, he was going to wait for Elizabeth to make the call. He waited impatiently, watching the sporadic rise and fall of Carter's chest, followed by groans and audible wheezing. He looked at his watch, counting off respirations. If he got too low, he would have to do something, whether or not Elizabeth called back. He didn't want it to come to that, he and Elizabeth were careful not to cross each other, he would not be the one to draw first blood. He looked back at his watch, and wrote in the chart. He would do vitals every few minutes until he heard back. Peter set the chart on top of the bedside table, and went about taking a full set of vitals, and getting an intubation tray ready, just in case. The thought suddenly struck him, Carter extubated himself. He's done it before. "Damnit Carter." Peter mumbled under his breath, as he monitored his rising pulse rate, and dropping blood pressure.

Elizabeth was going to be pissed. That Peter Benton knew without a doubt.



Part 7
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